


Unfamiliar Bonds

by FBIEpidemic



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 20:45:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15178973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FBIEpidemic/pseuds/FBIEpidemic
Summary: Zola Shepperd is a fighter. She is brave but even nine-year-olds are allowed to cower. So when her uncle is diagnosed with cancer and her mother sentences her to a summer of the hospital and him, she learns a bit more about the elusive Owen Hunt whom she thought she knew before.





	Unfamiliar Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> Don't know if this is going to stay up... don't even know if I like it that much...

As July approached quickly and Zola continued to drop small, horribly disguised, hints at staying at the hospital over the summer instead of at a daycare, Meredith came to find herself in hot water. Zola had expressed how unchallenged and childish the summer camps made her feel all the while bringing up how she would not get into any trouble at the hospital and that she promised to stay with whoever or wherever her mother put her. Meredith caved a week before school ended and Zola thought she had won the ultimate prize until she found out what she’d be doing.

“Go on in, Zozo.” Meredith pushes her daughter towards the door, unaware of the dread and fear bubbling in Zola’s chest.

Back in January, after Amelia found a lump on his underarm after one of their booty-calls, Owen was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Since then, he had been through a few rounds of chemotherapy and although his hair is still fairly intact, it was beginning to take its grip on him, and not in a good way.

“I-I don’t-” Zola closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath and reminding herself that the man she’s currently afraid of seeing, used to throw her in the air until her lungs could no longer keep up with her happy squeals. Cancer hasn’t taken her uncle and she gently reminds herself that over again before pushing the door open. Behind the room number 2047, he seats up in the bed his face drawn tight as he scans over a hospital file. Until he looks up.

“Zola!” Her GodFather had been more than excited to hear that Zola would be spending lots of time with him over the summer. Since his diagnoses, his ER had begun to fall apart without him there to control it. 

With the hospital stopping for no man, he saw very few visitors. He would never complain, though, because he knew that his sickness had put a lot of unwanted pressure on Amelia and Meredith, both whom he thought only came because they feel obligated.

She beams up at him, looking past his thinning frame and equally thinning hair, only seeing the Uncle that so frequently camps on their couch with Amelia. “Owen!” She hurries to the bed, giving him time to put his book down at slide his glasses off of his face before barreling into his chest. 

Much like her parents' wedding, Owen and Cristina christening into GodParent hood were much more of a verbal agreement. If something were to happen to Meredith now, it’s more than understood that while Owen agreed to it years ago Maggie, Alex, and Joe are more than ready to take care of the Shepherd/Grey children, as well.

He presses a kiss to her forehead as she wiggles back out of his arms and he asks,” where’s your giraffe? Don’t you still carry that thing around everywhere?”

She scowled at him,” Owen, I am not a baby anymore.” She’s no doubt to continue ripping him a new one for even suggesting that she might still carry around her favorite toy like she did when she was four when Meredith sticks her head in the door. 

“You guys good? I’ve got a surgery to run off to.” 

Owen nods his head, competent in his skills to keep the nine year old busy. “We’re fine, Meredith.” He smiles lightly at her, attempting to reassure her that this idea is as good as he thought it was.

Meredith had been adamant about it. She had seen Owen’s visitor log, knew that his mother’s visits were coming less and less, and that other than her and Amelia no one really comes by. Not that anyone can point fingers. Kepner has taken over Owen’s spot, which has proven very time consuming, and when she finds the time to talk with her mentor it’s usually late at night and all she’s able to do is sleep in a puddle by his side. 

Alex comes by sometimes, they were never close but they never butted heads so he drags a deck of cards in and loses about five hundred dollars to Owen in poker before claiming defeat and leaving for the week. Only to return the next week with chips or something less harmful to lose. 

Amelia spends a lot of thinking time in his room. She comes in and they talk about her other patients. She bounces ideas past him, he is her sounding board and it keeps him on his feet. 

His bad days are rare and few, at least to their eyes. He’s mastered hiding his quaking limbs, *anorexia*, and vomit filled hours but sometimes he’s not strong enough to hide it. Those days are only seen by Meredith and Amelia, he begs them to keep it that way.

So as Meredith leaves, Owen swells with the possible troubles he and Zola can get into.

“Hey Zola,” Owen pulls his legs out from under the covers, adjusting the machines around him for an easy access to the ground. “Wanna go get some ice cream?”

Her eyes light up, a big smile splattering across her face before she nods her head eagerly. He stops her though when she pulls her little pink converse out from under her chair. 

“You don’t need those,” he says nodding to them. “We don’t need shoes where we’re going.”

Holding his IV pole in his right hand and loosely guiding her with his left he guides her through the halls. Their shoeless, socked feet sliding over the smooth tiles. 

This morning she had been terrified of him. Of the idea of being forced to spend all summer here with him but as she loosely holds his left hand, she couldn’t be more excited for what this summer might hold.


End file.
